The Hunt


~6~

Alo trudged a few paces ahead of Hinto. The only sound that could be heard was the snow being compressed underfoot. Hinto looked up at the midday sky and marveled at its beauty.

“It sure is a lovely day isn’t it Alo? The winters here are so different than back home.” Hinto said in an attempt to break the silence, but Alo neglected to respond.

“Alo? Where are you leading us?”

No answer. Hinto was starting to get frustrated; he was puzzled as to why Alo was so disrespectful to him. The only time he expressed the slightest bit of gratitude was when he was drunk and covered in vomit.

Alo suddenly stopped and got onto one knee, examining the hoof print in the snow.

“Nice work,” Alo whispered, “it can’t be too far off.”

“What was that Alo?” Hinto asked, clueless as to what Alo was doing.

Alo began to move through the woods with an almost clumsy jog as his eyes stuck to the ground to follow the tracks. Hinto watched his partner with his paws resting behind his head.

“He really is a weird one,” Hinto thought to himself as he began to follow at a relaxed pace, “I wonder where he learned to hunt. He wouldn’t tell me either way. Such an odd cub, and yet….” His thoughts trailed off as he quickened his pace.

Alo took a knee and watched as a large buck grazed in the snow covered field down below. Its size was greater than that of most of its kind and it boasted a large rack atop his head. Hinto knelt down beside Alo and began to unrack his crossbow.

“Excellent find Alo, it’s not everyday a hunter finds his prey in only a few hours.” Hinto praised.

“It was merely luck. If you hadn’t have been so distracted by showing off to the town’s Ursine, we may have found it sooner.” Alo shouted while keeping his volume down to a low whisper.

“Or maybe it was me talking to the people that helped us find it in the first place.” Hinto responded, raising his weapon to the unsuspecting buck; but before pulling the trigger, Alo pushed the top of the crossbow downwards.

“This is my find and my hunt; I get the kill.”

Hinto looked at him with a vexed glance.

“Fine Alo, but when you miss and chase it away, it’s all on you.”

Alo set his quiver aside, unsheathing an arrow, then setting it into his bow. It was only him and the buck now. The pain of the winter kept his aim steady and his mind clear. Alo let his breath out slowly and released his shot.

The arrow cut though the air and struck the buck behind his front leg. The buck let out a horrific cry and began to flee in the opposite direction, leaving a wake of blood.

Before Alo could praise himself, Hinto jumped to his feet in excitement.

“That was an amazing shot Alo!”

Alo felt a warmth in his chest and face. It had been so long since he received a compliment from someone.

“That was simply amazing! That must’ve been at least 100 yards!” Hinto continued.

“Uh…I…” Alo felt flustered, but excited all at once; he had no clue how to respond.

“Well don’t just stand there, Alo! We’ve got a buck to catch! It’s a strong one too; on any other deer, that would’ve been a kill shot.”

“Um, yeah we should go after it, but we are all the way up here. We should find another way down.” Alo said while placing his bow and quiver across his chest and back.

Hinto laughed. “There’s a way down right here,” he said while pointing down the snow covered ledge. “We can just slide down.”

Hinto took a few steps back as Alo took a few forward to look over the edge.

“No I don’t think that’s a good idea Hinto, I’m-” Alo was cut off as Hinto gave him a firm shove off the cliff causing him to tumble down into the snow. Hinto laughed and slid down after him.

As Alo tumbled, he could hear his arrows slip from his quiver, but he had no means to retrieve them; he had gained too much momentum to stop on his own accord. When he reached the bottom, he was covered in snow. Hinto soon followed.

“See Alo? That was fun wasn’t it? That shot has made me so excited! This is why I love to-”

“Hinto!” Alo snapped, “Look what you did! I dropped all my arrows in the snow and now I’m covered in it too.”

Hinto gave him a brief examination.

“I’m sorry cub, I forgot you weren’t wearing too many cloths.”

“Of course you did.” Alo said while attempting to climb back up to fetch his arrows. Hinto watched as Alo tried, but quickly slid back down, compacting more snow into his fur.

“Calm down Alo, I have plenty of amo. I could even show you how to use my crossbow. As for the arrows, we will find a way back up to get them.”

“I want my arrows, now. They were made by someone important to me.”

“Ha! The only thing important to you is your alcohol.”

Alo realized that his attempts were futile; Hinto was right. The buck was more important, but he still felt uncomfortable about leaving all his arrows.

“Hey Alo, our game is getting further by the second. I’m sorry about your arrows, but we have to get going before wolves find it.”

Alo brushed the snow off of his rear and trudged in the snow past Hinto. Alo knew that he was right, but he wanted to make sure Hinto knew he wasn’t happy about it.

“Hey, Alo, I said sorry…I hope it was fun at least.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

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